Over the last few years, you’ve likely noticed that live-streaming platforms like Twitch have become all the rage. And while many of those who make their names off live-streaming do so through gaming, it’s far from the only thing people will find themselves doing on Twitch.
But regardless of what do you on Twitch, you’ll likely find that it’s hard to get many eyes on your content. Because while it’s possible to get thousands of viewers at once, that’s considered pretty extraordinary since it involves competing with potentially hundreds of other streamers who also want those viewers’ attention.
And while it may be tempting to engage in some extreme acts to wrest that attention away from them, one unfortunate case underscores what tragic consequences can unfold when you throw caution to the wind.
Until July of 2019, a 35-year-old man identified as Sun streamed daily on a Chinese platform called DouYu.
As The Daily Mail reported , he had 15,000 followers and his frequent tactic to attract more was to spin that wheel we see behind him and either eat or drink whatever it landed on.
Some of that wheel’s potential outcomes were stranger than others.
According to The Daily Mail , some of these options would have him ingest vinegar, eggs, beer, and a distilled liquor called baijiu.
However, mealworms, centipedes, and geckos also had their own places on that wheel. And during his fateful final stream on July 18, 2019, it seems the spinner landed on all three of them.
That Saturday, Sun’s girlfriend visited his apartment in Hefei, China only to receive no response.
Police later said they found him in his room without vital signs but also with his computer still in “live-stream” mode.
Authorities did not suspect foul play but investigated the precise cause of Sun’s death while DouYu removed his videos from their platform.
But while the results of that investigation are either not public knowledge or not available in English, there are some reasons to believe that his eating stunt may have killed him.
As Newsweek reported geckos are known to contain salmonella and while some cases of salmonella infection pass within a week, others can potentially turn deadly when the infection spreads to the bloodstream.
This fate befell one Australian man who suffered severe organ failure and died 10 days after eating a gecko at a Christmas party.
Another potential issue could come from the centipedes Sun ingested, depending on what species they are.
If they looked like this, then they could very well be members of the golden head centipede species — also known as Chinese red-headed centipedes — which are known to contain a potentially deadly venom.
As research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America journal uncovered, this venom can disrupt the respiratory and cardiovascular systems by blocking potassium pathways within the body known as KCNQ channels.
Although this venom is used to capture prey, there’s evidence suggesting that it can be similarly effective against humans.
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So while I must reiterate that the results of the police investigation are not available at this time, it’s possible that including geckos and centipedes on that spinning wheel was a fatal mistake for Sun.
h/t: The Daily Mail
